A joint cross-border bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) awareness campaign has started.

Animal Health and Welfare Northern Ireland (AHWNI) and Animal Health Ireland (AHI) have officially launched the new proactive campaign to address increased BVD prevalence in counties on both sides of the border.

In Northern Ireland, concerning and higher levels of the disease have been seen in hotspot areas in counties Armagh, Tyrone and Fermanagh, and in the republic the most affected area at present is Co. Monaghan.

BVD is a highly contagious disease that weakens animals’ immune systems, causing reproductive losses and long-term herd health problems that can quickly spread.

It can also be hugely costly to farmers, both AHWNI and AHI warned.

Awareness

To increase awareness, and encourage farmers to do all they can to protect their herds from infection with the BVD virus, there are three main strands of advice being given:

Keep it out: select new stock carefully, isolate and discuss with your vet whether you should be vaccinating the herd;
Stamp it out: cull positives quickly, clean and disinfect, and keep protective clothing and equipment hygiene expectations high when visitors are coming on to your farm;
Fence it out: manage your boundaries well to avoid contact with neighbouring cattle - plan to get maintenance work done when the weather permits.

Herd restrictions on both sides of the border are helping to contain the virus by limiting the movement of animals out of breakdown herds, however further actions are needed to accelerate progress toward eradication, the organisations said.

Posters and information are being distributed to livestock markets and veterinary practitioners, and farmers are welcome to contact the AHWNI and AHI helpdesks to discuss their BVD situation.

The two organisations will also run farmer information sessions in the areas in early 2026 to help support farmers in limiting the spread of BVD.